Whose solo piano music floats your boat?

[Beef Oven!]

I’m not fond of piano concertos, I prefer violin concertos, mostly.

But solo piano music is a different kettle of fish.

I don’t know if my list is obvious, but these are the three composers who really hit the spot for me (in order of preference)

1) Erik Satie - Unquestionably my number 1 (wouldn’t have said that a few years ago). From his numerous, amazing short pieces, including the 'furniture music' musique d’ameublement (Prelude En Tapisserie is playing as I type) to the one-hour and ten minutes of Le Fils des Etoiles.

One of my favourite discs of Satie’s solo piano music is volume 1 from this little lot by Steffen Schleiermacher

2) Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji - An almost unbelievably creative individual whose solo piano music can properly be described as unique, IMV. Rather obviously perhaps, I would refer to his 1930 4 hours masterpiece, Opus Clavicembalisticum. I have the Geoffrey Douglas Madge recording on BIS, but IIRC, both ahinton and Richard Barrett have previously said that the John Ogdon recording is better.

I attended an amazing Sorabji concert a few years ago, given by Jonathan Powell at Oxford University (as did a couple of other forumistas) and I’m pleased to say that in May Jonathan Powell will be giving a Sorabji concert both in Oxford and London.

3) Sergei Rachmaninoff - My introduction to solo piano music and my first love of this genre, via Turkish pianist Idil Biret (a Wilhelm Kempff pupil who I was lucky enough to catch in concert in Istanbul 23 years ago) on Naxos CDs bought from Woolworths! Such romantic and beautiful music that it’s easy to lose a whole afternoon listening to Rachmaninoff’s solo piano work. Absolutely any of his works does it for me, but if pushed I’d cite (from his 24 Preludes) his 13 Preludes Opus 32.

[pastoralguy]

Schubert, Brahms and Beethoven are my all time favourite solo piano composers.

[Serial_Apologist]

All the Debussy.

[EdgeleyRob]

Alkan

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

All the Debussy.

Yes - Debussy and Beethoven if I had to narrow my initial list of fourteen!

[Lat-Literal]

Definitely Argerich or Larrocha for most of the Spanish
Mainly Roge for Satie, Ravel, Faure and Poulenc
I like Ashkenazy for Rachmaninoff
Debussy - Haven't got any favourites but I have a soft spot for Casedesus
Cras - Jaquon, Koechlin - Richards, Severac - Maso, Tailleferre- Ariagno
Mompou - Hough (even though Mompou was Spanish)
Nazareth - Behs, Mignone - Worms, Guarnieri - Barros, Oswald and Nepomuceno - Guimaraes
I dip in to Chopin and Liszt, Grieg and Tchaikovsky - Various (ie not knowledgable enough)
Tcherepnin - Ogawa. Rautavaara. I like Nancarrow, Gipps- Brownridge, Alwyn - I have Wass
Persichetti - The piano pieces are better than most of his symphonies. Moeran - some rare.

There are quite a few others. Can hardly believe I am writing this as it hasn't been very long.

I do prefer piano, tone poem and symphony to most string things though there are exceptions.

Also like a bit of brass.

[Warlock]

Mozart and Beethoven.

[jayne lee wilson]

Skalkottas - 32 Piano Pieces (BIS, Samaltanos) .... Diabellis for the 20thC....
Messiaen - Catalogue d'Oiseaux (Ugorski, DG)
Albeniz - Iberia; Granados Goyescas ( Alicia de Larrocha, emi).
Hindemith - Ludus Tonalis (Ivo Janssen, Globe); Sonatas (Gould, CBS/Sony).
Ligeti Études - Idil Biret (Naxos).

Schumann - OP. 13, Op.9, OP.16, 1959 recital on Denon, anything as long as Sofronitsky plays it....
Sofronitsky in Scriabin Preludes (Vista Vera), 1958 recital (Denon)...
Richter's Schubert - d845, d850, but ONLY the 1950s mono Melodiyas...the d894 of heavenly lengths on Philips, sublime d575 & d664 on BBC Legends (RFH 1979..)...
Michelangeli in Debussy Études, Brahms Ballades Op.10, Schubert d53 OP. Posth.....

(got any further with Haydn 2032/4, Beef?)

[ahinton]

Chopin, Liszt, Alkan, Busoni, Debussy, Granados, Albeniz, Rachmaninoff, Godowsky, Ravel, Medtner, Szymanowski, Messiaen, Stevenson - oh, and Sorabji, of course!

Not so much Boaty McBoatface as enough to float an ocean-going cruise liner, methinks...

[ahinton]

2) Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji - An almost unbelievably creative individual whose solo piano music can properly be described as unique, IMV. Rather obviously perhaps, I would refer to his 1930 4 hours masterpiece, Opus Clavicembalisticum. I have the Geoffrey Douglas Madge recording on BIS, but IIRC, both ahinton and Richard Barrett have previously said that the John Ogdon recording is better.

It is. For the record, Madge's is from a live performance and Ogdon's a studio recording.

I attended an amazing Sorabji concert a few years ago, given by Jonathan Powell at Oxford University (as did a couple of other forumistas) and I’m pleased to say that in May Jonathan Powell will be giving a Sorabji concert both in Oxford and London.

You did indeed! - ah, yes, I remember it well. For those who might not already know, those two performance by Jonathan Powell will also be of Opus Clavicembalisticum, which he will also be performing in Brighton, Karlsruhe, Glasgow and Brno (with the possibility of another venue or two) later this year. His new recording of the composer's Sequentia Cyclica super Dies Iræ - a work almost twice the size of Opus Clavicembalisticum (which fact admittedly beggars belief) - is due out sometime in June although has yet to be officially announced.

I'm with you entirely on Rachmaninoff, by the way!

[BBMmk2]

Martha Argerich, Artur ubestein, Vladimir Ashkenazy: Chopin
Emil Gilels/Paul Lewis: Beethoven Piano Sonatas
Debussy: Mitsuko Uchida/Jean-Yves Thibaudet
Schubert: Radu Lupu, Alfred Brendel, Clifford Curzon.
Rachmaninov: Horovitz/Ashkenazy

A selection.

[Richard Barrett]

I don't listen to very much piano music compared with other things, but names that spring to mind among composers with a significant amount of piano music in their oeuvre, in chronological order, are: Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Debussy, Messiaen, Cage, Stockhausen, Cecil Taylor, Finnissy, Skempton.

[Quarky]

Messiaen, in particular Catalog d'Oiseaux. And Thelonius Monk.

Debussy and Beethoven used to be the tops, but these days I hardly listen to them at all. In fact I seem to have gone off the piano altogether, and would rather listen to a harpsichord.

[Beef Oven!]

It is. For the record, Madge's is from a live performance and Ogdon's a studio recording.

Indeed, it is.

His [JP] new recording of the composer's Sequentia Cyclica super Dies Iræ - a work almost twice the size of Opus Clavicembalisticum (which fact admittedly beggars belief) - is due out sometime in June although has yet to be officially announced.

Sorabji’s concerts often require an empty lemonade bottle for the performer and the audience members - this piece will require catheterisation!

I'm with you entirely on Rachmaninoff, by the way!

[Bryn]

... Sorabji’s concerts often require an empty lemonade bottle for the performer and the audience members - this piece will require catheterisation!

I seem to recall that both performer and most of the admittedly limited audience made it through without such recourse at the one (private) performance I attended and recorded back in December 2008.